The year 2014 saw the Town of Gardiner resolve its tax disputes over a famous actor’s property and its former library building sold by the town in an online auction. Several of the newer events in town became annual events with their second outing, like the Gardiner Open Studio Tour over Columbus Day weekend marking...

At a time when increasing fees charged to Ulster County transfer stations are causing town officials to contemplate difficult options — raising permit fees, consolidation with other towns or even closing altogether — the Town of Gardiner’s transfer station is not only in the black, it’s thriving. That’s due in no small part to the...

“I only like happy endings, and fortunately we have a happy ending here,” said trustee Warren Wiegand at last Wednesday’s hastily convened special meeting of the Gardiner Town Board. “I’d like to call it a great movie…complete with twists in the plot, a great supporting cast…a happy ending…and even sort of an Oscar at the...

After six years of abandonment and controversy about how it might be reused, the old Gardiner Library building and former firehouse has finally been sold by the Town of Gardiner, using a novel online auction tool. The successful bidder, Skydive the Ranch owner Bill Richards, purchased the structure for $100,000, and the closing will take...

If a certain well-known local landowner gets his way in court regarding the assessed value of his property, New Paltz Central School District taxpayers in general and Gardiner residents in particular will be paying through the nose to pick up the slack in property taxes for all posterity: That’s the takeaway message that Gardiner Town...

The old perception of libraries as simply depositories of books to borrow is gone; today’s library offers its patrons an environment that expands upon not only what residents can expect to be offered within its walls but stretches those boundaries to encompass the greater community outside. The Gardiner Library is a comfortable space filled with...

Photos by Lauren Thomas What’s going on with real estate in Gardiner — specifically, regarding large buildings with potential use as stores and restaurants? In recent months and years, local observers have been noticing a pileup of vacant commercial properties, especially in the Gardiner hamlet. Once-thriving retail spaces and eateries have gone out of...

Neat news about a messy subject was the order of the day at the Gardiner Town Board meeting on Tuesday, June 10. The town’s Solid Waste Transfer Station and Recycling Center has had a new manager with specialized training on duty since March 15, and by all appearances, town officials couldn’t be more pleased with...

Climbers and tourists visiting the Trapps can soon look forward to an enhanced experience at the scenic overlook nearest the Mohonk Preserve’s Overcliff/Undercliff trail. A million-dollar grant offered several years ago by the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) to “modernize and beautify” several overlooks along Route 44/55 will finally come to fruition, thanks...

With the Samuel F. Pryor III Shawangunk Gateway Campground currently under construction and projected to open to the public this year, Gardiner lawmakers are taking steps to alleviate concerns about the potential danger of high-speed traffic to campground patrons crossing Route 299 or walking along the shoulder. At its meeting on Tuesday, March 11, the...

“It’s been a great ride,” says recently retired justice John Savago, speaking of his 32-year term of service with the Gardiner Town Court that just ended effective Jan. 1, 2014. “If it weren’t for my health, I’d still be doing it.” Savago, who is undergoing treatment for Stage Four cancer, is currently enjoying the balmy...

Kicking off 2014 with its annual organizational meeting on Tuesday evening, Jan. 7, the Gardiner Town Board discussed its goals for the New Year and welcomed two new members: David Dukler, a Democrat, and John Hinson, who ran on the People for Gardiner party line. Just before the meeting, town justice Bruce Blatchly swore in...